Outside the obvious. Guards to watch in the 2025 NCAA Basketball Tournament.
March 18, 2025. Getting to the 2025 NCAA Championship Game is a task that only two teams will realize. Having good guard play has traditionally been a major part of winning college basketball's biggest event.
Here are the guards that may not be obvious choices that we are watching closely from a NBA prospect standpoint. Please always understand that we strongly believe defense is HALF of the game. Winning basketball is so much more than having guys that can score.
Nique Clifford gets it done on offense and defense.
POINT GUARDS:
The crop of real point guards that might play in the NBA is nothing special this season. The point guard conversation, among players in the Tourney, begins with Anthony Robinson II of Missouri. Robinson is 20 years-old. He is 6'2", 175 lbs. He is the rare PG that shoots it with accuracy from deep and also defends his position well. Robinson II is presently shooting 40.8% 3-pt., and 77% FT. It is a huge head scratcher that Robinson only plays 22.8 minutes per game. He is averaging 9.2 points, 3.5 assists, and 2 steals per contest. His assist-to-turnover ratio is 2.11-to-1.
Kam Jones of Marquette is next on our list of PG's to see. Jones, a lefty, averages 19.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per contest. He is 6'4", 185 lbs. Jones is good at getting into the paint and he can finish well with a variety of high-floating soft bankers. His ball-handing is nice. He gets very low with his dribble and he is crafty with his ability to carve space. He is not a great shooter. His shot is inconsistent and often ugly. This season Jones is making just 31% of his three-balls, although his career percentage is 36%. His free throw accuracy is sketchy as well (64%). Jones is 23 years old.
Coming off a thumb injury that forced him to miss 15 games, Boogie Fland of Arkansas is ready to return for the Tournament. He may see limited action as John Calipari integrates him back into the fold but Fland is a talented freshman. The 19 year-old scores 15 points per game, and adds 3.4 rebounds, and 5.7 assists each outing. He is sharp with the ball in his hands. His 3.67-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio is outstanding! He shoots the three-ball well at 36.5%, and he is good at the foul line too (83.9%). Fland is a minus defender and he will likely always be challenged on that end. At 6'2", 175 lbs, he will be at a size disadvantage once he cracks the NBA.
FOUR MORE: Jase Richardson - Michigan St., Donovan Dent - New Mexico, Braden Smith - Purdue, Max Shulga - VCU.
TWO GUARDS
The shooting guards list is topped by Nique Clifford of Colorado St. We are sold on Clifford as a future NBA player that will defend well every game while providing just enough offense to not be a liability. Clifford is 6'5", 200 lbs. He is scoring 19 points per game, while grabbing 9.7 boards per contest. He dishes 4.4 assists per game and most importantly, he DEFENDS. His DEFRTG is 4.6 points better than the Colorado St. team DEFRTG. Clifford is making 39.8% of his three-point attempts. He is a 77% free throw shooter. He is the CAREER leader in Mountain West boxscore plus/minus. Clifford is 23 years old.
A name to get familiar with is Taelon Peter of Liberty. Peter is a 6'4", 185 lb. two-guard playing his first season of D-1 basketball. He is 23 years-old. Peter averages 13.9 points, and 4.1 rebounds per game. He is connecting on a ridiculous 46% of his three-point attempts this season. He leads the entire NCAA in true shooting percentage (.732). Peter also leads Conference USA is boxscore plus/minus.
Otega Oweh of Kentucky is scoring 16.2 points and grabbing 4.6 rebounds per game. He hits 36% of his threes, and shoots 78% at the line. Oweh is a junior that played two seasons at Oklahoma before making the move to Kentucky. He is 6'5", 210 lbs. His sturdy frame is suited for the next level. His "feel" for the game is a work in progress. We like his ability to be a plus-defender. Oweh was named second-team All-SEC.
FOUR MORE: PJ Haggerty - Memphis, John Tonje - Wisconsin. V.J. Edgecombe - Baylor. Tre Johnson - Texas.
Next up: The forwards.
